The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and relevant links.

Rock Polish

Glaciers once dominated the Sea to Sky Corridor from Vancouver to north of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. At the height of the last Ice Age, one and a quarter miles (2.0 km) of ice covered the present-day sites of Squamish and Whistler. Evidence of how that ice shaped the landscape is still visible throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor as demonstrated above, for example. Here, just south of Squamish and next to the Sea to Sky Highway, rock outcrops have a smooth, polished appearance. Massive ice flows polished the surface of the rocks with the fine rock grit in the base of glacier. Pebbles embedded in the ice scratched the rock, marking the direction the ice once flowed. Photo taken on March 30, 2010.